The Asian Financial Crisis: Impact on Human Development

The Asian financial crisis surprised the world and resulted in steep economic downturns in parts of East and Southeast Asia. Its apparent quick recovery however would imply that there was negligible impact on human development. This paper challenges this notion. Using cross-country data from various Human Development Reports, this paper examines what factors were responsible for affecting overall human development in the pre-crisis and post-crisis period. The results indicate that structural changes have occurred and significant social problems persist in the post-crisis period in Southeast and East Asia, which are apparent through declining human and gender development for the region